Diving West Palm Beach Area End of January - Recommendations Needed

[KDAD]

Johnoly and Halcyon Daze thanks for the replies - I will be booking a shark dive. Basking Ridge Diver, too you were an early proponent of a boat dive. I think that the timing coinciding with the aggregation swayed me. Unfortunately it also coincides with the opening of the commercial shark season

Sheeper, I will definitely look up the dive club .After reading some of the recent posts I started to look up baited versus unbaited dives and I came across several of your posts.

My flight and hotel plans are confirmed. I will be staying in Juno Beach. Possibly a shore dive Thursday afternoon. I plan to do a boat dive on Friday Jan 29. Saturday will probably be BHB and another shore dive (unless I am so wowed on Friday that I book the next day on the spot).

I have a non diving companion with me so I'm trying to balance the quality of dives against my time away. If i was alone I would probably just do both days on the boat.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

Two things to think about - on Saturday - use Nitrox on any deep dives if you are flying on the 31st and try to give your self 18 hours or more between diving and flying unless your doing the BHB on Saturday... Then it should be less of an issue.

 

[KDAD]

Yes, I will be flying on the 31st and thay was part of my reason for diving BHB on Saturday and doing the deeper doves on Friday. Any chance you will be down there for work?

I am still looking into the dive boat but leaning towards the Narcosis or one of Jupiter Dive Centers boats. It will be a two tank nitrox dive.

 

[HalcyonDaze]

Yes, I will be flying on the 31st and thay was part of my reason for diving BHB on Saturday and doing the deeper doves on Friday. Any chance you will be down there for work?

I am still looking into the dive boat but leaning towards the Narcosis or one of Jupiter Dive Centers boats. It will be a two tank nitrox dive.

Both get good reviews around here. Personally I'm partial to Narcosis; it's my boat of choice when I'm not out with the "Emerald Irish Mafia." One of our visiting ScubaBoard regulars, drrich2, did a very good write-up on his trip with Jupiter Dive Center in September of last year: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/491927-jupiter-trip-report-9-7-14-9-11-14-a.html

I haven't been on a JDC boat in a long while (2004), but that trip report confirms my recollection of JDC being stricter about bottom times on their deeper dives - 25 minutes for air, 45 for nitrox. On Narcosis it's whichever comes first - 500 psi, your computer's no-deco limit, or 1 hour. On the other hand, JDC has a wider selection of rental tanks (including HP steel tanks up to 120 cf); if you rent tanks directly from Narcosis as opposed to stopping at a dive shop (Force-E Riviera Beach is just a few blocks up the road) they've only got aluminum 80s. Both have nitrox, although with JDC you might be able to call ahead and request a specific blend.

In both cases, you should think about what sites you want to do. I can't speak for JDC, but I know Narcosis hits everything from the inshore reefs like Breakers (45-60 ft) to the deeper sites off Jupiter and Van may make the call on his way out the inlet based on the experience level of his divers and where they want to go. My last time onboard we were thinking of doing the Wreck Trek (drift dive, max depth 90); after Van saw we had at least one guy with only 8 dives we went south and did shallower reefs.

 

[KDAD]

Thanks HalyconDaze for that link. I have read some of drrich2's other reviews on Bonaire and liveaboards and have always found them full of information and well written. This one was great.

Yes, tank sizes and logistics will be part of my dive plan.

How much input do we get in the dive sites or is choosing the boat a factor in where we would dive? Say I hear that a particular site is rather sharky and would like to try it. Do I suggest it among other passengers on the way out and it gets put up to a vote? Or is it more of a wreck v. reef question and then the captain decides the actual site? Is the choice of a site more of a factor during times other than shark aggregation? I am kind of assuming that the boat will try to put you on shark during that time of the year.

Also, I was initially thinking of diving a 3mm wetsuit mostly for protection for stings and whatnot but now want to confirm that a 3mm is sufficient for that time of the year for actual exposure protection. I tend to think so. I am good down to about 68 deg with the 3mm but noticed that some of other divers use a 5mm or even a 7mm!

 

[scubadada]

JDC has a 3 tanker on Friday mornings, including the 29th. I had a great time with them for last year's Lemon Shark aggregation.

You're more cold tolerant than I am, I'd be wearing my 5mm probably with hooded vest by the end of January. I wear my 7mm part of every year when the water is in the low 70s/upper 60s